Commish for a day

Jason at IIATMS has started rolling out all of the responses he got to his “what would you do if you were made Commissioner for a day” request. He got so much feedback that he’s going to break it down by subject. First up: relocation and territory rights, with a contribution from Keith Law and Chipmaker.

Check in to IIATMS throughout the week for what, on a basic level, amounts to some nice quality complaining.

Comments

As CFAD I would shorten the length of the season (not number of games – though I could accept fewer) by requiring 10 Saturday day-night double headers. This allows me to get more kids into games to attract the next generation of fans as well as allows the post-season to start in September and end before snow is on the ground.

While I’m at it – I would require teams to have infield and batting practice before games – allowing kids to arrive early to watch players practce, watch fungo games and have a more personal connection to going to games.

MooseinOhio has hit upon what may be the thing that could save baseball for future generations. Get the kids interested by allowing them a glimpse of the game that doesn’t run past their bedtimes! The Saturday day/night doubles is a great solution, since there would be a minimal (if any) loss of attendance on a Saturday afternoon compared to a Thursday night.

I would do what he said, BUT, my FIRST action would be to reinstate Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe.
Not that Pete deserves to be part of the game any more, but he NEEDS to be in the HOF. The all time (NON-steroid era) hits leader absolutely belongs there, even if the gambling addicted manager does not….

I like the doubleheader idea, except it brings up a practical problem. Who pitches? Teams are already stretched enough to get enough pitching. You could add on more players to the rosters, but then, you’re probably bringing in players that may or may not deserve to be in the majors (and/or are just up their for that one game, thus wasting them).

Wooden,

I really like your idea, but I wonder if people wouldn’t reignite the neutral-site talk for the World Series (moving games over weather concerns).

Richard,

Totally agree with you on Rose. He was a Hall of Fame player and should be in the Hall of Fame. Which brings me to an interesting question—how could you vote for someone who used steroids (to presumably cheat) but not for a man who simply gambled (that does not have anything to do with cheating the game)?

Of course having that many double headers could put a strain on the pitching staff but I believe it could be dealt with through revisiting some of the roster rules that currently exist. While I have no expertise in the area I suspect that most teams would be able to utilize top pitching prospects to fill in as starters and in relief, get some MLB experience and allow teams to make better acccessments on their possibilities as major league players.

For example, allowing teams to have expanded rosters on double header days may solve the problem or tweaking some of the existing rule regarding call-ups may allow teams to move easily deal with the need for extra arms for those ten weekends. Maybe simplifying some of baseballs major/minor league rules and regulations would be an added benefit to my suggestion and I suspect the players, especially minor leaguers on the cusp, would appreciate the opportunity to move up and down more freely to showcase their skills and abilities.